Copyholder



April 10, 1951 H. l. RICHARDS 2,547,973

COPYHOLDER Filed Aug. 20, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 S4( 1NVENToR-27 HENRY 1.RICHARDS ATTORNYS April 10, 1951 H. l. RICHARDS 2,547,973

. COPYHOLDER Filed Aug. 20, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. 22 2O 52:HENRY 1. sales-Havane. 7 b

` j 'o BY Arvo ran/sys Patented Apr. 1o, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE The present invention relates generally to copy holders and moreparticularly to improvements in y the construction thereof.

Copy holders including their supporting means, copy clamps and lineguides are old in the art and as a whole are characterized by a numberof disadvantages which tend to discourage their use.

'Many copy holders are suitable for use in only a single type of copywork or with only a single type of machine, due to a lack of flexibilityand the inability to place the copy holder in a position where it willbe of assistance rather than a handicap in copy work.

Among other disadvantages of known copy holders are: inadequate copyclamps which must either be held open or which lack adjustability toaccommodate the diil'erent sizes of copy; fixed line guides preventingaccurate alignment with al1 lines of successive pages of misalignedcopy; lack of flexibility in raising or lowering the line guide overcopy independently of the step-by-step advancing means; and an inabilityto support or operate with heavy copy material such as books of dilerentsizes.

Accordingly the chief object of the present invention is to provide acopy holder which will obviate the aforementioned disadvantages.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder which is readily positionable with respect to various types ofmachines, such as typewriters and other business machines, and whichwill receive various types of copy for support thereon. Y

A further important object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder having a copy support and an adjustable clamp for cooperationtherewith.

Another important object of the inventionis to provide a copy holderhaving an adjustable copy clamp which will remain in open or closedposition so as to free both hands of the user for the accurate placingof the copy on its support.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a copy holderhaving a novel supporting pedestal which will enable the former to berotated about its own axis and also about the axis of the pedestal forready adjustment of the copy to a position where it is most easily read.Y

Another important object of the invention is to provide a copy holderincluding a pedestal support which is maintained in upright position bythe machine with which it is being used but without attachment thereto.5

Still another important object of the invention is to provide a copyholder having a line guide which is pivotally and slidably mounted so asto be accurately aligned with varying amounts or thicknesses ofunaligned copy.

Another important object of the present in-V vention is to provide acopy holder having a line guide support which may be advanced orretracted by increments or which may be manually and quickly moved tothe desired position in either direction adjacent the edge of the copywithout i'lrst disconnecting any portion of the advancing mechanism.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder having a novel line guide support which permits the line guide tobe quickly adjusted to any position on or to align with the copy and toaccommodate various thicknesses thereof.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide alineguide attachment for copy holders which is capable of ready alignmentwith 'the pages of books regardless of the tendency of the pages to sagin opposite directions.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a copy holderhaving an adjustable support and line guide for copy such as books.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a copy holderwhich may be readily disassembled so as to be placed beside a machinesuch as a typewriter and folded with it back into a typewriter desk. 4

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the courselof the following description.

In the drawings I have shown one embodiment of the invention. In thisshowing:

Figure 1 is an elevational view showing the copy holder in operativeposition with respect to a typewriter and desk; l

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of the invention;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1, partsbeing shown in elevation;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional View of the line guide support takenon the line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the line guide support takenon the line 5 5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the line guide support takenon the line 6 6 of Figure 2;

Figure '7 is a sectional view of the line guide support taken on theline 'I 'l of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a perspective View of the rotatable plug of the line guidesupport;

Figure 9 is a front elevational view of the copy holder showing a lineguide operatively mounted on the open pages of a book;

Figure 10 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line Illl0 of Figure9;

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on the line II-I I of Figure 9showing the manner in which the book line guide is mounted on the copyholder;

Figure 12 is a sectional view similar to Figure 11 but taken on the lineI2-I2 of Figure 9;

Figure 13 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line I3I3 of Figure9;

Figure 14 is a detail sectional view illustrating the mounting of thecopy holder on its pedestal; and Y Figure 15 is a side elevational viewthereof.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 2U generally designates a copy holderpreferably formed of sheet metal, aluminum, etc. of sufficiently heavygauge for the purpose in question, Aand including a pair of laterallongitudinally extending, downturned flanges 22, an upper downwardlyextending Vflange 23 and a lower upwardly extending shelf 24 whichincludes aslot 25 located cen trally therein for a purpose to bedescribed. The `upper face of the copy holder includes alateral.extending slot 26, which is also formed in the upperdownwardlyextending flange 23 for a purpose which will become apparent.

The rear face of the copy holder 25 is provided (Fig. 15) with atriangular block ZS in the bottom of which is formed ka socket 29 whichreceives the upper end of an S-shaped pedestal 36, the lower end ofwhich is received .in a socket formed in a base member 32 to which issecured a supporting rectangular base plate 33.

The pedestal 30 has free rotatable motion with respect to the basemember 32 and with respect to the triangular block 28^so that the copyholder 20 may-be adjusted into any desired position with respect to atypewriter or business .machine T (Fig. 1) vunder ,which the base yplate33 is positioned to anchor the pedestal and copy holder in a rigidupright position. The pedestal 3!! is of such height as to clear the topportion-of the desk D on which it may be positioned and where it is freefrom interference with the carriage of the business machine. rlhe upperend of the pedestal 3 while being freely rotatable with re.- spect tothesocket 29, is provided with a series of semi-,spherical depressions .3|about its periphery which are engaged by a ball 3 I 1 to permit definitepositions of adjustment asdesired. The opposite side of .the upper vendof the pedestal v3i! is flattened so as to permit it to -be easilyattached to the copyholder.

A clamp 34 extends transversely across the face of the copy holderand ismovable longitudinally with respect there-to by means of a pair ofU-shaped flanges v36, which engage the downturnedanges 22 of the copyholder and are freely slidable therealong to adjust for copy ofdifferent lengths.

The copy clamp 34 is provided with a pair of upstanding flanges 31 whichrotatably support a U-shaped bail 38 provided with rollers 3S to engagethe surface of the copy. Tension spring membersll are Aconnected betweenthe iianges 36 and the legs of the bail 38so as to urge it eitheragainst the surface of the copy or upwardly against a Stop member 42formed .in either 'or both .0f the upstanding flanges 31. @ne of theends of the bail which are rotatably receivedin the flanges 31, isprovided with an actuating handle member 43 so that the bail may bereadily swung into either desired position, thus leaving the hands freefor insertion of the copy in proper position upon the copy holder.

The copy holder 20 is provided with an extended line guide 44, which isslidably mounted for vertical adjustment with respect to the copy in arotary plug 46 provided with a semi-circular aperture or bore to conformto the cross-sectional shape of the line guide. The line guide support41 comprises a rectangular block member having a circular bore 46 forthe reception of the plug 45, the bore 48 opening into an externallyextending slot 49 so that the frictional bearing engagement of thesupport 41 on the plug 46 'may be adjusted by means of a screw bolt 50.The Arotary plug 46 is retained in the ocre 48 by means of a supportabutting collar 52 formed integrally therewith and a detachable snapring 53 which seats in a recess formed in the periphery of the other-endof the plug.

The line guide support is provided with a second aperture or bore 54 forthe reception of a helically grooved screw 55, which is rotatablysupported in the copy holder 2x] by means of a pair of downturnedapertured flanges 51 and 58. The grooves 58 of the helical screw shaftare V-shaped in cross section and are frictionally engaged by avhard,highly polished metal ball B0, which is resiliently urged thereagainstby means of a compression spring 6|, the outer end of which bearsagainst an adjutable plug 62. The lower end of the crew 56 is providedwith an operating knob 64, and upon rotation thereof in a clockwise maniner, the line guide support 41 is urged downwardly along the edge of thecopy holder by virtue of the engagement of the ball 60 with the V-shapedgroove 59. Thus, the line guide 44 may be advanced downwardly or overthe surface of the copy in any desired increments by so rotating theknob 64. When returning the line guide' support 41 and hence the lineguide 44 to the upper portion of the copy, it is merely necessary toslide the support 41 along the screw Shaft 56y as the compression of thespring 6| is so adjusted .as to permit the ball 60 to readily ride outof the groove 55. Thus, the line guide support.41 may Vbe advanced orretracted in increments or rapidly moved the entire length of the screw56 to move the guide 44 across the surface of the copy. The support 41may also be rotated with or relative to theshaft 56.

The construction of theline guide and its support comprise a verylimportant feature of the present invention as will now be readilyapparent. The line guide 44 can be readily and easily moved shortincrements up and down the surface of the copy or the entire distancethereof inasmuch as the ball 60 will snap in and out of the V-shapedgrooves, thus eliminating the need for manually disengaging theconventional groove engaging pin, etc. The line guide support 41 is ofvery simple but practical construction `with nothing to get out oforder. Frictional engagement of the plug 46 inthe aperture or bore 4B iscontrolled by the screw bolt 5G whereas the compression l.of the springis readily controlled by the screw plug 62.

It will be noted that the flat-sided, perpendicular end portion of theline guide 44 has a close but easy sliding fit in the plug 46 to permitthe line guide to be easily adjusted vertically, that is,perpendicularly to the copy supporting surface-to accommodate differentthicknesses of copy. MQIC.- over, ,line guides of different, 'length maybe readily substitutedfor each othel` in the -plug 46, -Anotherimportant feature gf the present invenguide 44 in the support 41 byvirtue of the rotary plug 46 so that the line guide may be readilyangularly adjusted against the clamping friction of bore 48 to alignwith such copy which is not parallel therewith. This is a very importantadvantage inasmuch as in a plurality of sheets of copy, the linesthereof may be inclined in either direction. Heretofore, it wasnecessary to readjust the copy, but the present invention eliminatesthis sometimes difficult or impossible task by the pivotal mounting ofthe line guide 44, which is readily adjusted by pressure on its outerend.

The S-shaped pedestal 30 enables the copy to be held close toandapproximately the same level as a typewriter platen to thus reduce theeye movements required of the typist. Moreover, the operating knob 64ispositioned closely adjacent to the keys or space bar of thetypewriter, thus reducing the hand movements required of the operator.The particular amount of rotation of the knob to obtain line-at-a-timemovement is readily determined by a typist after a few turns thereof.

The copy holder is readily adjusted to any one of a large number ofpositions since the pedestal 3U is rotatable with respect to the socketat either end. Furthermore, as previously explained, the copy holder isreadily detachable from the pedestal 39 which is detachable from thebase member 32 so that it may be laid beside the type-A writer when thelatter is folded into the desk for the night.

The Vsliding clamp 34 is a further important feature of the presentinvention. The fact that the clamp will remain open greatly facilitatesthe insertion of copy sheets and due to `the construction and its mannerof mounting on the copy holder, 4special tracks, etc. are entirelyeliminated. In the use of the copy holder, copy is placed on its uppersurface and allowed to rest on the lower shelf 24, the clamp being inopen position. When the copy is correctly adjusted, the clamp 38 issnapped thereagainst by means of the operating handle 43 to cooperatewith the shelf in maintaining it in correct position regardless of itsthickness. l

An auxiliary line guide 66S is pivotally mounted ,in a slot 69 formed ina supporting block 69 by means of a hard steel ball Il which engages thesides of an aperture 'I3 formed in the line guide 6 so as to force itagainst the sides of the slot 68 to frictionally hold it in anyangularly adjusted position. The line `guide support {69 is providedwith a bore 'i5 which receives a helically grooved shaft i6. The sidesof the groove Tl on the shaft 16, which is V-shaped in Icross section,are engaged by a ball 1,8 which is urged thereagainst by a compressionspring 80, the outer end of which bears against an adjustable screw plugyB2 (Fig. 10). l

The helically grooved screw '16, which is provided with an operatingknob 83, is rotatably mounted at its upper end inthe aperture of a `ilatbar 8f3 which is received in the slot 26 of a copy holder `Sli which isidentical in construction to the copy holder 29 disclosed in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. The lower end of the screw 16 is received in the slot 25which may be provided with an extension or U-shaped member 88 to permitvertical adjustment to accommodate unusually thick books or copy work.The U-shaped member 88 is suitably secured to the bottom of thecopy-holder by a thumb screw 89.

l www As stated, the slot 26 is formed in the top of the front surfaceof the copy holder and in the top end of the flange 23, and is of suchwidth as to support the bar 84 in a horizontal position. That is, thelower surface of the bar rests on the lower edge of the slot formed inthe surface of the copy holder and the bar is prevented from saggingdownwardly by the flange 23. Thus, the screw 16 can be adjusted towardand away from the surface of the copy holder to accommodate fordifferent thicknesses of copy, such as books, without the screw sagginginto an inoperative position although lateral movement thereof ispermitted by the bar at the top due to the width of the slot 25 and bypivotally adjusting the member I88 at the bottom. The screw and itssupporting bar may also be pivoted upwardly within the slot 26 until thescrew is at right angles to the copyholder to permit the pages of thecopy to be turned.

VIt will now be readily `apparent that the line guide ES may bepivotally adjusted to accommo- 4date for the slope of the page 99 to theleft or to the right to accommodate for the slope of the lines of copyon page 9| whereas it is relatively impossible to align the conventionalline guide with the lines of the pages of a thick book.

The auxiliary line guide 6B cooperates with the copy-holder 20 making itadaptable for use with all types of copy work, the position of the screw'i6 being adjustable not only outwardly or toward the copy, butangularly inthe plane thereof. This freedom of movement together withthe pivotal mounting of the line guide 66 adapts the latter for use withany type of copy. Obviously, the line guide is moved along the surfaceVof the copy by rotating the knob 83 in either direction or by slidingthe support 69 along the screw 16 as previously described. Furthermore,when not vin use, the line guide 66 and its supporting and actuatingstructure may be readily detached from the copy holder and stored in asmall space.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention or thescope of the subjoined claims.

I claim: 1. In combination with a copyholder having a l copy `supportingsurface and a shaft extending in 'spaced parallel relation to saidsurface: aline guide support member mounted for longitudinal `movementon the shaft; an extended line guide carried bythe line guide supportmember, said line guide being provided with an integral end portionprojecting at right angles thereto; plug l guide support member inselected positions along the shaft.

2. In combination with a copyholder having a copy supporting surface anda shaft extending in spaced parallel relation to said surface: a lineguide support member mounted for longitudinal movement on the shaft; anVextended line guide carried by the line guide support member, said linelguide being provided with an end portion projecting at .right anglesthereto and 'having 1a flat side; meansk pivotally mounting said endportion on said support member for friction retarded rotation about itslongitudinal axis, said means being also formed to ,complementallyengage the fiat side and slidably guide said end .portion forreciprocation relative to said support member; and yieldable frictionmeans carried by the line guide Support member and engaging the shaft toretain the line guide support member in selected positions along theshaft.

r3. In combination with a copyholder having a copy supporting surfaceand a shaft extending in spaced parallel relation to said surface: ablock member having a first bore therethrough slidably engaging theshaft, a second bore extending through the `block member perpendicularlyto the direction of the iirst bore and to one side thereof, and a thirdbore extending perpendicularly to and intersecting the first bore; aplug rotatably mounted in the second bore, said plug being formed with anon-circular bore therethrough; means for adjusting the frictionalresistance of the secondbore to rotation of the plug; a line guide striphaving an end portion extending perpendicularly thereto and shaped forcomplemental sliding engagement with the non-circular bore of the plug;and yieldable means inthe third 'bore arranged `frictionally to engagethe shaft.

.4. As a subcombination, a line guide assembly for copyholders,said'assembly comprising a slide member formed for reciprocatingmovement on a shaft and having a circular bore therethrough;

a plug mounted `for friction retarded rotation in the circular bore,said plug having a non-circular bore extending longitudinallytherethrough; and a line guide strip having an angularly projecting endportion formed complemental with and slidably engaging the non-circularbore of the plug whereby the guide strip can be raised or loweredwithout turning relative to vsaid plug.

5. As a subcombination, a line guide assembly" for copyholders, saidassembly comprising a block` member formed for reciprocating movement ona shaft and having a circular bore therethrough and an external slitextending from and inter-v secting the circular bore; a plug of circular.crossy section mounted for rotation in the circular bore and projectingfrom the ends thereof, said plug having ua non-circular bore extendinglongitudinelly therethrough and being formed with a shoulder at one endabutting on the block member; a screw threadedly secured in the blockmember and spanning the slit for adjusting the frictional resistance torotation of the plug; a line guide strip having a perpendicularlyprojecting end portion formed complemental with and slidably engagingthe noncircular bore o f the plug; and detachable means engaging theother end of the plug and engaging the block member to retain the plugtherein.

6. As a subcombination, a line guide assemblyV erally rectangular blocklmember having a circular bore extending between opposite faces thereofand a slit extending from another face and intersecting the circularbore; a plug rotatably 4received in the circular bore, said plughavingfa non-circular bore extending longitudinally therethrough; ascrew threadedly secured in the block member and spanning the slit foradjusting the frictional resistance to rotation of the plug; a lineguide strip having a perpendicularly projecting end portion formedcomplemental with and ,slidably engaging the non-circular bore of theplug; said block member having also a shaft bore extending therethroughperpendicularly to the direction of the plug bore and to one sidethereof and means projectible into the shaft bore to operatively engagea shaft reciprocable therein.

7. In combination with a copyholder having a copy supporting surface anda shaft mounted in spaced relation to said surface: a line guide supportmounted on said shaft for longitudinal and rotational movement, saidline guide support having a bore formed therein and extending in adirection perpendicularly to said shaft and to one side thereof; a plugrotatably mounted in said bore; and a line guide having a non-circularend portion extending at right angles thereto, said plug being formed tocomplementally engage and guide said end portion for reciprocation onlyrelative to said support, whereby said line guide may be rotated towardand away from said surface, angularly adjusted relative to copy on saidsurface, 'and moved perpendicularly to said surface to accommodatevarious thicknesses of copy.

8. In combination with a copyholder having a copy supporting surface andan elongated guide member extending parallel thereto: an extended lineguide having an end portion at right angles thereto; a line guidesupport slidably mounted on the elongated guide member; a cylindricalmember rotatably mounted and frictionally clamped in the line guidesupport, said line guide end portion and said cylindrical member beingformed to provide non-circular complementally interengaging slideportions guiding the line guide for bodily adjusting movementperpendicularly of the copy supporting surface.

i HENRY I. RICHARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 413,510 Heard et al. Oct. 22,1899 662,193 Harsha Nov. 20, 1900 1,101,529 Downey June 30, 19141,719,422 Breitenbach July 2, 1929 2,013,253 Richards Sept, 3, 19352,053,738 Pribble Sept. 8, 1936 2,202,190 Crawford May 28, 1940 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 86,744 Switzerland Oct. l, 1920 534,004France Dec. 24, 1921 549,108 France Nov. 10, 1922

